Passage for Reflection: Hebrews 11:17-28
It all started with faith.
By faith someone took bold action.
What’s the origin story of faith in action in your community of faith or faith-based non-profit organization?
For the non-profit I serve, our story begins with Donagene Christian. By faith, in 1988, Donagene responded to the call to “feed my sheep” (John 21:17). By faith Donagene gathered support from her congregation and a dozen others. By faith she formed a new faith-based non-profit. By faith she served as its first Executive Director. By faith she set in motion a ministry that would continue to grow and flourish long after she passed from this life to the next. By faith, Donagene established the White Rock Center of Hope – an ecumenical organization that makes a difference in peoples’ lives by providing a place where the community can share God’s blessings by meeting basic human needs.
The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is one of the most talked about in all of the Bible. It focuses on living out one’s faith. Today’s reading (v. 17-28), recalls Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses acting on their faith. Throughout the chapter several additional people are named. Notably, the chapter concludes with a reminder that none of the individuals mentioned fully realized all that God promised.
Learn the names of those who came before you in the life of your congregation or faith-based non-profit organization. Know their stories. Familiarize yourself with their dreams.
The ministry continues. It will be carried forward as you act on your faith.
Take a few minutes this week to prayerfully discern how God is calling you to live out your faith in general and especially through the community of faith and/or faith-based non-profit you support. Write down your own “by faith” statement and begin living it out.
This post was originally published in the Lectionary for Life Series for the Center for Congregational Ethics on August 9, 2022.